Futures for hogs decreased the most since late October 2010 amidst indications that supplies for U.S. pork are increasing, Bloomberg reports.
Also pushing down the price of hogs was the value of the dollar rising 0.6 percent when held up against counterpart currencies. U.S. Agriculture Department information indicates hog carcasses weighed an average of 208.81 pounds on December 29, their highest amount since December 10.
"The rebound in the dollar" is applying pressure on prices for livestock, Dan Vaught, owner of Vaught Futures Insights in Altus, Arkansas, told Bloomberg. "The dollar has been under quite a bit of pressure, and it bounced."
February settlement hog futures slipped 1.775 cents to settle at 77.975 cents per pound at 1 p.m. on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. That 2.2 decrease represents the largest drop for an active contract since October 25.
In 2010, prices increased 22 percent, representing the largest increase since 2004.
"Lots of folks are looking for a pretty large slaughter total this week after having two short weeks" since the Christmas and New Year's holidays increase pork supplies, according to Vaught.
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